The Cow Chip Classic is held in Prairie du Sac as part of the annual Cow Chip Throw & Festival on Labor Day weekend at Marion Park. I started doing the 5 K race in 2006 and eventually moved over to the 10 K. I really like the course because it crosses over the Wisconsin River on the Highway 60 bridge, and the 10 K loop runs along Lake Wisconsin past the golf course.
Powers and Thrones
Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages by Dan Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Powers and Thrones is a history of the Middle Ages, and in my opinion, is one of the best single-volume histories of this period. I think it must be a difficult task to write a history of the Middle Ages, mainly because so much happens in this 900 to 1000 years that you can’t possible include everything of interest. So there is always the tradeoff between general information and specific events. And I think the author has done an excellent job of maintaining the balance between the “big picture” and events and people which are familiar to most readers.
The focus is on Europe from the fall of the western Roman Empire until the Reformation. The author has organized the book around topics, while maintaining a more or less chronological order. Each chapter covers a topic, for example the Black Death or the Byzantines, and the topics are cross-referenced as needed.
I liked that the author really developed the story of the Arabs; often they are only discussed in terms of the Crusades. And I enjoyed the chapter on the Mongols. I think I really learned something about them.
If you’re interested in this period of history, I strongly recommend this book.
Wessex Tales
Wessex Tales by Thomas Hardy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wessex Tales is Thomas Hardy’s first collection of short stories, all set in his fictional Wessex. There are seven stories, and most of them are inspired by legends, superstitions or tales handed down over the years. Most of the inspirations for the stories are events that took place before Hardy was born.
Wessex Tales was published in 1888, and falls between the publication of The Woodlanders and Tess of the d’Urbervilles, so it comes relatively late in his career. Hardy published three collections of short stories. In many ways, Hardy’s short stories are much more accessible than his novels.
I can’t really say much about any of the stories for fear of spoilers, but they are all good reads. I liked all of the stories, but I especially enjoyed “The Three Strangers” and “The Withered Arm” as well as “The Distracted Preacher.”
Myth America
Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past by Kevin M. Kruse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Myth America is a collection of 20 essays by historians on a variety of topics in American History which are often misrepresented or lied about. Some of the topics are relatively recent, but some are as old as the Constitution. And because the authors are all historians, everything is footnoted.
There are a lot of good essays in this book. I learned quite a bit, and there are some things that surprised me too; for example the essay on the Founding Myths. Most of us think of James Madison as being the “Father of the Constitution” but the reality is somewhat different. I also found the essays on the “failures” of the New Deal and the Great Society to be very interesting as well. And the essay on Voter Fraud (and voter suppression) is definitely worth reading as well, given that it has been in the news almost continuously since the 2020 election.
One thing to note is that there is nothing about slavery in the book – the editors discuss this in the introduction. The reason is that there are simply too many myths about slavery to fit into this book.
I really enjoyed reading this book. There are definitely some surprises and I learned some new things.
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens most famous works, the other one would be A Christmas Carol. I had to read it many years ago in my 9th grade English class, and it is a great story, even though I suspect we read an abridged version of the novel.
Briefly and hopefully without spoilers, the two cities are London and Paris. The story begins in London as we meet Mr Lorry who works for a British bank which also has an office in Paris. It is before the French Revolution, and Mr Lorry travels to Paris to meet Dr Manette, who had been a prisoner in the Bastille. Dr Manette has a daughter Lucie, who is living in London. In Paris, we meet M Defarge, who had been a servant of Dr Manette and his wife, Mme Defarge. Also through Mr Lorry, we meet Charles Darnay, a son of a French aristocrat, who is on trial in London for being a spy for France and/or the United States, and Sydney Carton who helps defend Darnay at his trial.
With the focus on this core group of characters, we watch as revolution comes to France and the aristocratic class either flees or is made to suffer for the oppression of the lower classes. And this is about as far as I can go without any major spoilers.
It is a very compelling story; perhaps it is the best story Dickens has written. But, having read it again after so many years, there are a few things that kind of bother me. First, the plot is dependent on coincidences. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there are really a lot of coincidences in this story.
Another thing is that the only sympathetic French people in the story are the ones who relocated to London before the revolution: Dr Manette, Lucie and Darnay. There is no sympathetic member of the aristocracy or the revolutionaries, with the possible exception of M Defarge. Mme Defarge is depicted as being particularly bloodthirsty, but when we learn her backstory, her attitude should be somewhat understandable. I tend to think that this is just Dickens writing for his primary audience: the British middle classes. There are places in some of his other novels where this is apparent, but it really stands out here.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. It is a great story and definitely worth reading, but I think that this novel is not Dickens best one.
Lent Devotion 2023
Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
In this passage, the Apostle Paul compares our life here on earth with running a race. As a runner, I’m always looking for Bible passages that mention running or races. When I prepare for a long race, I will train for several months: running, swimming and doing exercises. I also try to eat less junk food. When the day of the race arrives, my hope is to run the best race that I can.
I’ve never actually won a race – I’m not a particularly fast runner. Occasionally I have finished first in my age group, and the prize is usually something nice: a medal, or a ribbon. As Paul says, we all compete, but only one will win the race, and the winner’s prize is something perishable.
In our earthly, life-long race for the eternal prize, we are not competing against each other, but we all are striving to reach the same goal: God’s promise of salvation. There is no training for this race – we are in it from the beginning. And, as we live our lives, we need to stay aware of our goal and not to yield to earthly desires. As Paul says, we need to enslave our bodies, so that we are not distracted by things of the flesh. None of us would want to be disqualified from this race!
As we run our earthly race, some parts may seem easy and some may be very difficult, just like any race. But we can always rely on God for help as we run towards our goal.
Dear Lord, thank You watching over us as we run our earthly race. Please help us not to be distracted, but to stay focused on our goal of eternal life with You. Amen.
Prisoners of the Castle
Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison by Ben Macintyre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Prisoners of the Castle is the true story of the prisoner of war camp in Colditz castle during World War 2. The story is probably familiar to most who have read about POWs who were held by the Germans during the war. Certainly I remember reading Pat Reid’s book Escape from Colditz many years ago. But this book is different; Mr Macintyre has tried (and succeeded in my opinion) to present a comprehensive history of Colditz during the war, including prisoners, guards and the civilians in the town of Colditz.
The narrative unfolds chronologically, beginning with the arrival of the first POWs at the castle and ending with the American ground forces taking control of the area in 1945. Naturally the escapes (including Pat Reid’s) are covered, but we learn a lot about what it was like to be a prisoner in Colditz: the food, the different nationalities, the social groups, etc.
To me it was very interesting to read the German side of the story, which was based on the diaries of one of the officers. Also it was interesting to learn how the prisoners were able to communicate with Allied forces via coded messages in their letters home. If you’re interested in this period of history, I strongly recommend this book
The Return of the Native
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Return of the Native is one of Thomas Hardy’s “novels of character and environment” set in Wessex. It comes after Far from the Madding Crowd and is followed by the Mayor of Casterbridge. The “native” mentioned in the title is Clym Yeobright who returns to the Egdon Heath after having lived and worked in Paris. But he is not happy with his life in Paris; instead he wants to pursue a dream of becoming a school teacher.
Clym’s cousin Thomasin is supposed to have married Damon Wildeve, but something has gone wrong with the paperwork, and she rides back home with Diggory Venn, the reddleman. Venn has asked Thomasin to marry him in the past, but was turned down. Wildeve is attracted to Eustacia Vye, and so has mixed feelings about marrying Thomasin. This is the environment to which Clym is returning.
I won’t go much beyond this because potential spoilers, but Clym, Thomasin, Eustacia and Wildeve form a sort of lover’s quadrangle which is not very stable. When we add in Clym’s mother, Mrs Yeobright and Diggory Venn and of course the heath itself, it is an interesting and compelling story.
I read this book many years ago and I found it just as exciting as I did then. It’s definitely worth reading; I think it is one of Hardy’s better novels.
Far from the Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Far from the Madding Crowd is another of Hardy’s series of novels set in Wessex; it follows Under the Greenwood Tree and precedes The Return of the Native in his novels of “character and environment.” Set in the 1840s, we meet Bathsheba Everdene, who has inherited her uncle’s farm in Weatherbury and Gabriel Oak, a farmer who has some misfortunes and loses his farm and his social status.
Bathsheba eventually finds herself with three potential suitors: Farmer Boldwood who owns the adjoining farm, Sergeant Troy whose regiment is based in the area and Gabriel. We also meet a girl, Fanny Robin, who plays an important role in the development of the story.
I can’t go much beyond that, for fear of spoilers, but I really enjoyed reading this book again after many years. One of the things that I found interesting, is how the landscape with the natural cycle of the seasons is present in the novel; almost as if the landscape is an additional character.
Lent Devotion 2022
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11
As a runner, I always keep an eye out for Bible passages that mention running or races, and this one caught my eye the last time I read Ecclesiastes. I like this verse because it seems to describe a lot of what we see here in our earthly lives, “under the sun,” as the writer says.
When we rely on our own abilities, the results are not always what we hope for, even if we are skilled or wise or strong or swift. Our best plans can sometimes go completely wrong. In our world, “time and chance” can make all of our wisdom or training or intelligence useless. It is only by relying on God that we can be sure that we will reach our goals.
I’ve run in many races over the years. On race day, when I line up with the other runners for the start, I know that no matter how much I’ve trained, what happens next is mostly out of my control – time and chance. So, before the start I pray that God will watch over all of us and keep us safe on the course, and that He will help me to make good decisions during the race and that I will run the best race that I can. I’m not a very fast runner, so there is very little chance of me winning the race, but with God’s help, it can be a great experience.
Dear Lord, thank You for all the skills and talents that you have given to us. Please help us to recognize the limits of our abilities, and help us to put our trust in You. Amen.